What You Need to Know: During the Atomic Age, the U.S. embarked on the ambitious Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP ... GE ...

After World War II, atomic age design picked up where Streamline Moderne left off, according to Alessandra Wood, PhD, design historian and author of Designed to Sell: The Evolution of Modern ...

The article claimed that the Soviets had flown an atomic-powered plane more than 40 times, with great success. Not to be outdone, the U.S. stepped up their nuclear engine development game.

Ford unveiled this thought experiment in 1962, just four years after the Nucleon. The fins are much more subdued, but there's still a lot going on with this concept.